Audio clip leads to arrest of sexual assault suspect from 2015

An audio recording on a woman’s phone has led to the arrest of a man accused of sexually assaulting the woman years ago in Las Vegas, according to police.

Ladell Pope, 40, was booked Tuesday at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of felony sex assault and domestic battery by strangulation. A Las Vegas police arrest report for Pope indicates the charges stem from an April 10, 2015, accusation from a woman known to Pope.

A defense attorney for Pope said Friday that Pope maintains his innocence.

“My client is a devoted husband and father,” attorney Charles Goodwin said in a statement. “He adamantly denies the allegations and had no knowledge of the charges until his recent arrest.”

The woman told police in 2015 that Pope choked and sexually assaulted her at a Las Vegas apartment during an argument.

Police said the woman, during arguments with Pope, made audio recordings of the disputes on her phone. Police said they obtained a recording from the woman in which a man she identified as Pope is heard talking to her in a sexual manner. Police said the woman can be heard on the recording saying, “Ladell stop it.”

“For the rest of the recording (the woman) could be heard screaming, then her voice becomes muffled, she says repeatedly for Pope to stop choking her,” police wrote in the arrest report.

Police said they scheduled an appointment to interview Pope on April 17, 2015, as part of their investigation, but he never showed up. Las Vegas Justice Court records indicate an arrest warrant was issued for Pope in January 2016. He was arrested this month in Florida.

Court records show bail was set for Pope at $20,000 on Wednesday. He has since been released from custody with intensive supervision after a bail bond company posted a $50 surety bond.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 9.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.